James Van Der Beek To Co-Star In ABC's 'Bitch' Comedy Pilot As Himself

In what would be his first major comedy series gig, Dawson’s Creek alum James Van Der Beek is set to co-star in the ABC/20th TV comedy pilot Don’t Trust the Bitchin Apt. 23. The Nahnatchka Khan/Dave Hemingson project, to be directed by Modern Family‘s Jason Winer, centers on June (Dreama Walker), an earnest, honest, optimistic girl from the heartland who is forced to move in with Chloe (Krysten Ritter), a sexy, unstable New York City party girl who has the morals of a pirate. Van Der Beek will play Chloe’s best friend James Van Der Beek, a heightened version of himself in the vein of Neil Patrick Harris’ stint in the Harold & Kumar movies and Matt LaBlanc’s starring role on the Showtime comedy Episodes. The role, originally named after and eyed for former ‘N Sync singer Lance Bass, is being completely rewritten for Van Der Beek.

Van Der Beek has always been sought after during pilot season for drama projects. But, following his viral videos for FunnyOrDie.com, for the first time this season, he fielded all comedy offers. On TV, Van Der Beek, repped by Paradigm and Brillstein Entertainment, most recently co-stared on the NBC medical drama Mercy. He also did a memorable guest spot on the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother as Robin’s ex. Here is one of the Van Der Beek’s FunnyOrDie videos, in which he pokes fun at his character on Dawson’s.